28 is the age at which people realise they need to plan financially, according to new research.

Bright Grey’s Financial Safety Net report found that when people aged 45 and over were asked when they thought about long-term financial provisions such as taking out a pension plan or gaining savings in order to purchase property – the average age was 28 years old. However, 4% of respondents only realised they needed long-term financial planning at age 50 or above, while 5% do not believe that they need to plan financially for the long term at all.

Meanwhile, 46% believe they have achieved the general dream that they had when aged 20 years old. Typical answers for what those dreams were include getting married, being happy, starting a family, travelling the world and owning a business. For many, earning lots of money was the most important thing to them at 20 years old.

However, 24% in the 35+ age bracket believes they will never fulfil their dream from age 20.

“28 is around the age that for many, they may take key lifestyle choices such as buying a first property, getting married or having a child,” said Roger Edwards, managing director at Bright Grey.

“With these changes can come responsibility, and this means waking up to the very real need to have finances in order. Unfortunately the ‘dream’ of getting very rich in later life happens to precious few, and for the rest of us, maintaining a healthy financial lifestyle is critical.”